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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY OONCERN:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM GrA Cuentan, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings, in the State of New York, have invented a new and useful Method of Transmitting Signals over the Tops of Freight-Cars used on Railroads; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in applying, on the root' of the car, what I call a freight-car pulley, 0r a guide for the rope. with o pulley'on the bottom, over which the signal-rope may freely pass, land arranged in sui-h n. way that the rope may be instantly thrown in on the roller Without being disconnected, and be as secure in its pince as if it passed through a closed ring. i

It muy be proper to say here, that while the signal-rope for passenger-trains has been improved and arranged perfectly to answerits purposes, there has been no proper and reliable arrangement for freight-trains, for the reason that freight-trains are generally very long, and the rope -must` necessarily pass overtho top and be exposed tothe weather. It consequently gets wet, and, when wet, there is somuch friction that it is almost impossible to use it. The guides that are used are generally of iron, that rusts and rots the repo, 0r of wood,

that increases tho friction. v

To enable others skilled in the arts to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction und operation.

I construct my car on any of the known forms, and on the top, near the centre, vat each end, I place my pulley-arrangement for guiding the signal-rope. It is usually made of metal, ofthe general'form and dimensions shown in the accompanying drawings, plates 1 and 2, with a base, A, to screw on the top of the car, and two uprights, B B, on each side, to hold the roller G, which I make of lignum-vitee wood, which, being of an oily nature, will not swell up and stick fast. It will also revolve freely, and be durable. Above the uprights B B is continued a circular ring, about one and one-halt` inch diameter in the clear, through which the rope may pass with the utmost freedom, even when tied in knots or kinkcd. Abovethe ring is a narrow opening, F, over which arc placed two uprights, C D. In one of these uprights, D, is fitted a tongue-piece, E, working on a. pivot, which entirely closes the opening F (for theradmission of the rope) 'by its own gravity. I

The Operation is as follows: When the train is coupled together, the brakemau has o'n his arm a coil of rope, or it issometimes wound on a reel, which he carries in his hand. He gets on the top of the train next the engine, ties the end of the rope fast to the signal-bell, then runs over the top of the train towards the rear, uncoiling the rope as he goes, and dropping it into the guide between the uprights C D, and displacing,.for the moment, the tongue E, which instantly closes, and the rope is perfectly secured in its place. No violence, or storm of wind, or unequal height of cars, can displace it, and a signal can be given from the rear end of the b train to the engineer with perfect certainty, in all weather, and over any number of cars.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is The application, to the roofs of railroad-cars, of a pulley-guide for the signalling-rope, substantially as described, and for the purposes mentioned.

WILLIAM .Gn CREAMER.

With esses F. A. WILcoxsoN, HENRY BREVOOR, 

